I have notice more and more ebay auctions offering Pay Pal as a payment option. Anyone use this option to buy or sell stuff on ebay? I had a Pay Pal account a while back but closed it when I started to receive emails from pay pal saying I needed to update my account. At the time this made me parinoid so I closed my Pay Pal account. Have not used it since. It turned out however that some of those emails were FAKE, and not form Pay Pal.

I still have doubts about useing it, so in the meantime I look for auctions that have Money Orders as a form of payment. Although I did use Bid Pay from Western Union.

I just wanted to know what everyone thinks about Pay Pal? I know it is affiliated with ebay, and is safe well by ebay standards, maybe I need more convinceing?

Hi Paul61
I have been using Paypal for years without a hitch. They have been bought by E-Bay but continues to operate separately.

As far as auctions are conscerned, it is so much easier and faster using Paypal.

The requests for updates on your account did not come from PayPal. I received them too,and forwarded them to PayPal. They looked into it,and they replied that they were investigating the spoof. They thanked me and said they would never ask for sensitive information like that,and never to give it.

PayPal is absolutely reliable.

Bernie

I am a risk taker by nature. But I do not trust PayPal anymore. last year I registered with them to pay for some gear that I bought on eBay and just a few months later I started getting bizarre credit cardd statements. Took quite a few months and quite a bit of patience to clear that mess up.

-ED-

Hi Paul,

I think that one reason a lot of people are using paypal is simply because of the insurance and security it offers. I think paypal covers up to $500 for e-fraud and users need to link financial records to their paypal account.

Personally I look for items that accept paypal and avoid ones that are limited to checks or money orders. With paypal there is a very clear paper trail for the payment and you're guaranteed that paypal has records on the person you're buying from. I think ebay only requires an address or something so scams occur relatively often. It just feels safer using a middle man for the money than hoping that some stranger will send off the new keyboard you just sent him a $1000 check for.

Also, paypal is a good way for individuals to use credit cards for person to person transactions. Most major credit cards now offer full protection from internet fraud etc. So, if I'm going to buy an expensive item from someone I don't know, its nice to know that Visa and Paypal are covering me. I think this protection is invaluable in the modern ebay world. Too many times I've been ready to bid on an item and held out because I had a bad feeling about the seller only to check back later on the item and see negative feedback saying that the person never sent the item or something. Its a good place for deals AND scams so I'm looking for all the protection I can get when I'm out there. Paypal helps me feel a little safer.

Just my thoughts....there are good links from paypal and ebay regarding their policies and security.


[This message has been edited by keys81 (edited 01-17-2005).]

True! But that dosen't mean that a person useing pay pal won't try to scam you as well? They could use pay pal and still send you nothing. I don't alawys go by people useing pay pal, but the person with the higher feedback rating. Espically if it is 100% positive. I have delat with people who would prefer that they pay for an item that I am selling use pay pal, which is fine by me. I'm not saying I won't use pay pal, I'll just be a little more cautious that's all.

Of course there is alwyas Bid Pay from Western Union.

[This message has been edited by Paul-61 (edited 01-18-2005).]

True enough...they still may try to rip you off but in the event that it does happen....you're a little more protected. Plus, I think that people who accept paypal are less likely to scam because they know that the follow up won't be an individual tracking down his check or money order but rather a bank or credit card company with a team of people who are very experienced at resolving these issues.

But yes, you're right. I think feedback has and will be the #1 telltale as to who you're dealing with and how well the transaction is likely to go!